The odd one out
by Nick1319
Summary: What happens when a young man accidentally exposes himself to the Yautja culture and society? How would they react to seeing a human walk among them? And will he finally come to terms with what's happened? Or find peace within himself while tackles these new challenges? Story contains Drama, Hurt, Violence, Adventure, Soul searching and maybe Romance later on. Rated M for safety.
1. Chapter 1: Accident prone

**Authors** **Note.****Now it has been quite a while since I've been at the writing game. So I must apologize if my work seems a little rusty or sloppy. Also note, I do NOT put myself in my stories T.T this is one of my characters from his point of view. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own or have any of the rights to any of the AVP films, games, ect. This is purely fiction for the sake of entertainment not profit. **

The day started off normal enough. Breakfast, around the house chores, and paying my respects to my dead grandfather. After that I made my way down to town. I lived in a small mountain community where the air was always clean, crisp and the views at sunset and dawn were always breath taking. The trees would give off the sweet sent of pollen in the air, and the people were for the most part always nice and respectful of one another. Well... except for me that is.

I walked into the general store to buy some large batteries, some replacement cable, and a little extra carousel oil. But upon my arrival I received many strange and odd looks from the people of the town. To them I was a paranoid recluse living on the rim of the mountain in my grandfathers cabin. I would always catch the rumors about me and how I "was trying to bring my grandfather back to life and, that I was some nut gearing up for war." None of it was true of course but people would always seem to find something to make up about me.

"So how goes the science experiments Frankenstein?" Joe, the cashier and a good friend of mine asked.

"Oh bite me you little gremlin. You know just as well as everyone else that I'm not some madman or crazy. So quit teasing me about it!"

"Hey hey, I'm only joking around man. I know." He said while bagging the items.

"Seriously though, why does everyone always say that about me? I don't get it. It's like after my grandfather died everyone can't stop talking about me." I spoke with a tired voice. It never really did help my sanity much that everyone kept looking down on me.

"Well let's see, you took up martial arts the moment he died. You started buying a ton of surveillance equipment. Hell, just last week you bought a fan blade and flood lights. Why do you even need those?" He asked with genuine concern.

"The fan blade on one of my generators broke."

"And the flood lights?"

"... I want to be able to easily spot animals that wonder close?"

He sighed and finished ringing up the items. I guess I could kind of understand where he was coming from. I never did let anyone ever come to visit me, or invited friends over. And I would on occasion buy some questionable things that people don't generally outfit their homes with.

"Thanks Joe, hey I'll see you later alright man?"

"Just try to take care Allen, really." He said with a smile. I waved and left.

While walking back to my car a patrol unit came up along side me. It was Remirez, the local sheriff. He had always given me a hard time about being "different" and living alone while never letting anyone come near the house. Every time there was something happening in this small town it would be my door he'd beat on first.

"Keeping out of trouble Allen?" He asked.

"But of course officer. I'm just getting ready to head home."

"Well look, anytime you ever wanna get out more there are a lot of places you could visit. Like, a book store or maybe even going to talk to someone."

"No I'm fine. Besides, I've got enough to keep me busy all the time at home."

He grunted and started to pull away. He wasn't a bad man, just a bit overbearing. But I suppose that's what made him good at his job.

When I finally got home it was about four o'clock in the afternoon. I carried the things inside and set them down on the counter. Then walked upstairs to view the security camera footage over last night. I had camera's installed in many different parts of the house and more than a few hidden well outside. There was nothing out of place except seeing some teens throw rocks at the house.

"I swear one of these days those idiots are going to stumble right into it." I said while heading back downstairs. I ate dinner then proceeded outside and down the hill a bit. I stopped right at the edge of a gape between the trees, looked around. Then reached my hand out and started to feel the invisible surface. I knew exactly where the controls were by heart, and proceeded to open the hatch on the ship.

Once open I strolled inside and started up the generators activating the lights. Closed the hatch behind me and opened my video diary.

"Okay, so it's taken three years and a hell of a lot of translation, but I think I've finally learned the language of the Yautja... in text form anyway." I spoke while setting the camera down on my workstation. I poured the oil into several lanterns I had hanging in the halls.

"So, last week I got a little too eager and accessed the armory. Which I swore I WOULDN'T do after that little mishap with the tiny box I thought was a computer, then seeing it fire a blue death ball through my house. But as a result, I found some kind of wrist-mounted blades. And I also found out that they can fire out of the gauntlets. Hence why I had to buy another fan blade for the generator." I said motioning my off hand towards it while I was working.

"Now, my initial thought was maybe I'd find some tools or something to maybe help me find out more about their culture. Seeing as how I couldn't dig up much from the ships data banks except different locations throughout the galaxy. But no, there was just a bunch of different weapons. But I guess I should have figured as much from a room listed as "the armory"." I said with picking up the camera and walking down the hall.

I entered a somewhat larger room that was round, had a big table in the middle of it, and on one end of the room had many dark computer screens. I walked over and sat down in the chair that was a little big for me and started tapping away on the buttons.

"Now I have tested the ships power by integrating a few human computers into the system to monitor the ships state. And I found out that not only has this thing managed to have enough power to stay cloaked for three whole years but that it's power source renews itself every few hours or so. This ship literally produces more power than it needs and as far as I can tell it's reactor is self-sustaining." I said as the screens in front of me came to live.

"I want to know everything about them. Why they come to Earth, where they're actually from, and if they're a reasonable people." I said while browsing through the ships controls. I saw a file that read, "Home and clan" and opened it. I then saw many different pictures, texts, just so much data flowing through the screen at once. I tried slowing it down to read it but as I did that I heard a loud bang.

My head swiveled around and I was up and out of the seat racing down the hall. I saw a view port as I was running and it looked like the ship was moving. I came to the hatch and opened it only to see that I was already thirty feet up in the air. Then the engines roared and I was sent flying into a pillar. I crawled for the controls to close the hatch then was back up and sprinting back to the bridge again.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no no no." I frantically repeated while jumping back into the chair. Something in that file or something I did auto started the engines and the ship was rapidly ascending into the sky.

"Okay this should be easy. Just find the button to land again, right? Or wait, do I have to do that manually?" I mused while flying through the controls. I was no pilot, not only that I was on board a non human ship. All I knew how to do on this thing was read the messages onscreen and use the ships bridge computer.

"I could just turn the ship off right? Power down the systems?" I thought to myself while viewing the controls for it. There was a safety protocol in place that prevented me from attempting it however. My mind was racing and my heart was beating a mile a minute. Where was this thing going? How would I stop it or turn it around?

I hit a tab onscreen that read, "open central viewing area" and then the round bridge rooms walls started re-contracting revealing the blackness of space. I saw many fast moving stars, and when I turned around to see Earth... all I could see was our solar system slowly getting smaller.

"... Fuck my life."


	2. Chapter 2: Seeing the faces of death

**Authors Note.**** It feels good to be back and writing again. Hope many of you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Also in reply to a review I got, the main character is an AVERAGE everyday human. He's not meant to be tough as nails with nerves of steel. And I'm trying not to lose my head with all the cursing. That's why you don't see much of it except for times where it seems appropriate or funny. **

My eyes felt like they were shrinking into the back of my skull as I stared at the space where our system just was. I slumped into the chair with a heavy sigh.

"What did I get myself into? Why wasn't I more careful?" I asked myself. Whenever bad things would usually happen in my life I would always try to preoccupy myself. So I forced myself to my feet after a moment, and started down the hallway again. Might as well check the lanterns for fires, right?

Walking through the doorway into the main hall I saw a few that had tipped and fallen, but none of them had ignited. The hallway itself wasn't too big. Maybe thirty feet end to end with a five foot width. My feet felt like they were caught in quick sand as I walked. My mind a mess of questions and my demeanor drooping.

I entered the cargo bay again and had to wave my hand through the air in disgust. The room started to fill with black, reeking smoke as the generator ran. I bent down to shut it off while coughing then examined the rest of the room. One of the flood lights I had brought on board was laying on the floor, sparks jutting out of it. My workstation a mess as all of the tools lay on the ground, the papers everywhere. In fact the only thing that seemed to not be knocked off the table was a tape.

"Hmmp. So much for luck." I said picking it up. It was the first tape in my video diary I started three years ago. I had always kept it on the ship as a lucky charm. I waltzed back though the ship to the bridge again and plopped myself down in the chair.

I brushed lose strands of hair out of my face as I picked up the camera. I inserted the tape and pushed play.

"Oh my god, you know that invisible wall I talked about in my diary? I found a way to open it! It's actually some kind of space ship! Oh, I bet this is what that thing came here in!" I chuckled at seeing my old self in the video. My shorter hair and my dorky smile.

"I'm going to learn everything about it! Maybe things will make a little more sense when I'm done even! Haha." But what I wouldn't give to have some of that happiness right now. I fumbled the other tape in my hand, the one from today. I thought about it for a second then took the other tape out and put the new one back in.

"... Three years and..." I watched the tape play by seeing myself pour the oil. I had always joked around thinking this kind of thing would happen one day. But I thought I had gotten careful enough while using the bridge computer that I would have been safe.

I saw in the tape that I had set the camera down on the console while was using it. I observed every detail of myself. My broad shoulders, shoulder length brown somewhat frizzy hair, light teal eyes and lightly tanned skin. I saw myself jut up out of the seat while I was wearing my black hoodie and blue jeans.

"This could be the last thing anyone ever sees of me." I mused while ending the video.

"Hmph, well I suppose I could look at lot worse." I chuckled out with a weary voice while holding the tape in my hand.

I looked up and saw a holographic map of the stars floating over the large round table in the room. There was a moving white blip that I assumed to be me, and there was a red dot with a name beside it.

"Emodis?" I uttered out. I stumbled to my feet and walked over to the map. I clicked the button to enlarge the surrounding area of where the red dot was. It looked like a planet, larger than Earth but not by a lot. It looked pail orange with a ring around it. But I saw the white blip come into view just outside the system of where this, "Emodis" was.

Suddenly I felt the ship jolt and I fell to my knee's. I looked up outside the windows and the white streaks of light slowed back down to where they looked like normal stars. It dawned on me that the ship was decelerating and I was about to be wherever it was heading. I saw the pail orange planet come into view and I sat back down in the chair.

The ship dove into the upper atmosphere of the planet and for a moment I thought it wasn't going to slow down. But when the fire cleared I saw that it was gliding over desert lands at high speeds. I saw up ahead what looked like a city or some kind of small settlement. There didn't seem to be any tall standing buildings or paved looking roads that I could see while the ship was speeding towards it.

The thought of manual control needed for landing popped into my head and I started sweating. But thankfully the ship seemed to be able to do just about everything by itself as it flew over the small city then circled around and slowly and came to a smooth halt hovering just above the ground.

The ship touched down and for a long while it felt like the passage of time wasn't there anymore. Then like getting hit by a bat over the head it dawned on me. I was on an alien planet! My eyes darted around everywhere and they finally took notice of three figures beginning to approach the craft from the edge of the settlement.

I could almost feel the color leaving my skin. I knew they weren't human, they were so tall, and wore masks just like the one I had seen before. Then I gasped! These were the Yautja! The only clear thought in my head at that moment was closing the viewing area on the bridge so they couldn't spot me.

"Oh man, what am I going to do? What should I say? Should I even say anything!? Okay okay, maybe I can hide? No that'll never work. Hey maybe they like humans?" Then I remembered finding "trophies" in that things living quarters on the ship. But I was cut off in my ramblings as I heard an odd rapid clicking sound coming from a mini speaker on the console.

I just zoned out starring at the console as the clicking kept sounding like it was changing tone and then I heard a voice bark through the speaker. I flew out of the seat for a second in fear for my life mode before I realized that was actually their language I was hearing!

"Wait, they're trying to talk to me?! Well okay maybe not me, but what am I gonna do though? Umm, Uhh... this ship has some of the most advance tech any of my kind will ever see. Sooo maybe I can send them a text message?" I knew how stupid the idea sounded. But what else could I do? Walk out and say hi?

I tapped away at the controls as the clicking started to sound more impatient. I saw the three Yautja with the ships scanners just standing outside. One with its head tilted in confusion it looked like. I saw they all three had the same computers on their wrists that I had found on the ship. Maybe that could receive a message?

I worked feverishly at the onscreen controls trying to find a way to message them. But by accident I brought one of the ships weapons online.

"Oh shit! No! Don't blast them spam them with texts til they go away!" It locked on one of the three as I was frantically mashing at the buttons. I brought the gun offline but then I heard a loud roar and saw one of them angrily moving for the hatch. I had just found a way to send them a text and was freaking out while I was pounding my hands away at the console.

"Hello you'll have to forgive me I'm sick please don't open the hatch I'm sorry for the wait." I typed out in under a second. I heard the clicking again and prayed they didn't expect me to answer talking back to them.

"Has the mighty Denj-ah gone daft? Why did your weapons lock on one of our docking personnel?" I read out as the letters were appearing across the screen.

"I'm sorry I wasn't feeling well and I am not what I used to be." I typed back. "_Oh they're never going to buy this._" I thought. Then I heard eerily human sounding laughter coming from the speaker.

"I suppose we could let it slide. But why not come and greet us?" They asked.

"I don't want to spread the infection." I prayed they bought the bluff. I saw them all look to one another and their body language seemed to change as well. The Yautja standing closest to the hatch started backing away.

"Is it the Ojuah virus? Do you require anything we could fetch?" They asked.

"Umm, no. I have a... human pet for that." I felt like I was shooting myself in the head by telling them I was here. Then I heard a roar of laughter as I saw all three nearly double over reading the message.

"The great and prideful Denj'ah took a human aid! This day wont soon be forgotten friend. Well if you require anything else I'll post a guard outside your ship." He replied. Then I watched as all three started to walk off. All still reading the same message and laughing from the looks of it.

"I can't believe that actually worked... I'm alive." I said while slumping back into the chair again breathing heavily. Then I remembered them saying the "mighty and great" about whoever Denj-ah was. I tried not to think about how angry they'd probably get if they found out he was actually dead.

I sat there for a while and let my heart rate calm down before I did anything else. The thought of how I was going to get home was still present in my mind. And why shouldn't it be? I am somewhere where I really don't belong. But at the same time... There was no better way to learn more about them then to visit one of their cities.

But I may as well have been contemplating suicide if I thought they were just going to let a human wander around everywhere. Then I thought about it for a moment. I was here as the pet of whoever Denj'ah is. And whoever he WAS, was great and mighty. So people around here may not actually want to kill me.

I sat there forever before I finally decided that I was going to risk it. I wanted to learn about them. And the brave never got anywhere by staying in one place. So I got up and walked back to the cargo hold. On my way there I stopped and then had the idea to check the armory for a spare wrist computer. Luckily I found one, then I exited the room and turned the corner into the cargo bay again.

I organized some things at my workstation and dragged the floodlights out of the way. The room still reeked of gas fumes from the generator which was part of the reason why I wanted to get out too.

I walked up to the hatch and typed at the controls. The door started to open and I casually walked down the ramp while I was feeling gravity changing. Things felt more heavy and a wave of warm, sandy desert air wiped across my face. I had just realized that I wasn't breathing normal air, but I was alright and fine though. I froze in my tracks when I saw one of the Yautja standing there starring at me. My body went so stiff and my eyes felt like were widening to the size of basketballs.

"_Please don't kill me! please don't kill me!_" Was what ran through my head several times over. But he just stood there, impassive, expressionless. Then I remembered I was a pet, and tried showing a sign of respect by bowing. But I may as well have been interacting with a statue he was so motionless.

I didn't exactly know what to do and the though of using the computer to text him came up. But I decided against it, so I slowly started walking away after closing the hatch again of course. I put my hood up and zipped up my jacket. I didn't care how hot it was, if it was keeping less attention off me then I was happy. The ship didn't land itself too far away from the city, a short walk and I was there. I made sure the computer was tucked safely in my pocket then began walking.

Upon my arrival though I felt like I was as much of a spectacle to them as they were to me. Many of them seemed to favor wearing dread locks and their faces had four spiky looking teeth that moved and a smaller mouth that I could see when their teeth would open.

Many stopped and gawked at me and it felt so unnerving having so many different beings stare at me while I strolled through their town. Many buildings looked like they were made out of some kind of refined sand with patterns in them. Wooden signs hung from polls jutting out of some of the structures and I had guessed those were shops of some kind. Few even had these odd looking carpets laying in front of them.

I saw a sign over one building that said Trinkets and oddities. I looked at the store and there were a few customers buying different weird looking items. I thought I'd poke around just a little, so I entered. It felt different that's for sure. the store itself didn't actually have any front doors, just an open space where a few Yautja's were standing.

A few of them looked my way while I was going into the store. When I was inside the smells were off somehow. Everything had this musty old smell but sweet as the same time while not being overpowering. The different assorted things laying bare on some of the wooden shelves looked so different from what I had expected of them. Then I felt something tug on the sleeve of my jacket and I flinched jumping back slightly.

It was a small looking Yautja, a child I guessed. He kept pulling on my sleeve then started trying to yank me away while walking. I had no idea where I was being lead to but I thought why not see where it takes me? He lead me back to a different looking Yautja in the store as well. This one looked like it had somewhat weaker facial features, it's head not as big as the rest.

I heard them both speaking to each other but couldn't make out a word for the life of me. Eventually the other pulled its hand from me and proceeded to usher her child away. I continued looking through some of the things though. I walked down a isle that had some kind of small devices in it.

These looked like spare parts for wrist computers, and I saw symbols next to each and every one of them. Those were the text symbols for numbers in their language, and I assumed it was the price. I had remembered seeing a bunch of numbers on a chip once a long time ago on the ship. But there was an odd sign on the chip next to them that I never could figure out. Now I knew though that it was currency.

I took a stroll back to the ship again to grab the chip from the living quarters and the Yautja guard just starred at me the whole time. It especially felt awkward while I was wait for the ramp to lower. Just kinda stood there scratching the back of my head while it was looking me over. Then went inside took it and was back out and on my way again.

I didn't exactly know what I may have gotten at their market. But how cool would it have been if I got home and had a souvenir, right? On my way there again though I felt like I was starving! But there was just a tiny little problem. This wasn't Earth... and I didn't bring any food with me. I didn't know how much I liked the idea of trying some of their delicacies, or if they could even poison or kill me!

Then I saw across the small dirt road I was standing on a sign that said, "The Den." and it looked like the equivalent of a standard human fast food joint. It didn't look all too busy either.

I walked up to the place and the Yautja at the counter looked more feminine with slightly longer hair. She gazed at me with an odd look while I read their menu. The seared chops of Ranten sounded interesting, then I remembered I don't even know their language. For all I knew they didn't know mine either. So I pulled out the computer and typed in my order but noticed that she wasn't wearing one. I cursed my luck for a split second before I thought to just hand it over to her.

She looked back and forth from me to the screen in disbelief. I guess I could understand where she was coming from. After all, seeing a random human walk up and order something? It'd be like seeing E.T. walk into a liquor store and buying slurpees. She put the order through and held out her hand. I gave her the chip and prayed she didn't ask for a pin number. She gave both the chip and the computer back then pointed to a table where Yautja were already sitting.

I shrugged my shoulders and she motioned for the computer again.

"Sit there." It said when she gave it back. I didn't know how to feel about this but didn't question it either. I mean, I REALLY didn't want to show any kind of disrespect, lest she spit in the food.

I walked over and was about to sit on the wooden bench with the others when all five of them looked up at me. I tried not to make eye contact and sat down at the end. I could just about feel their eyes resting on me, the chatter that was once going on had all but stopped. One of them on the opposite side had scooched over to where I was and I started pulling my hood down slightly over my face.

He leaned in far enough to still see my eyes though and I felt nervous looking back at him. I knew exactly what these beings could do if they had gotten angry. Then I decided if they were going to try this hard to see my face then I sat up straight and put my hood down. I was able to see them all looking and they started to murmur among one another.

I couldn't tell if it was in their culture to have everyone sit together while eating, or if I was out of place here. But I was where she told me to be though. The one beside me gently nudged me with his arm and my head snapped to him. I thought he was trying to say hello so I pulled out the computer again and typed in hello back.

I handed it to him and studied his face while he read. Then he kept looking to all of his different friends showing them the message. I couldn't tell if this was positive or not but they started laughing about it though. He gave it back and started saying something but as before I knew not what.

"I am sorry, but I don't actually speak or understand your language." I typed. He was reading it while showing the others then wrote something back.

"How has a human managed to find Emodis?" I read. I chuckled nervously for a second.

"I am here as a pet of Denj-ah." But after seeing him read that he nearly threw the computer back at me and they all started moving away fast. I had no idea what I did to make them this way, but they kept looking from one another and back at me. I shrugged in confusion then continued to wait.

The female Yautja came out and put the food down in front of me. She looked me over again then shook her head while heading back. The dish wasn't too big, it looked almost proportionate to a human dish except a little bigger. It had this strong sweet smell with this aroma of what I recognized as maybe garlic coming from it. It was three hefty slices of well done meat sitting in this clear looking oil.

I was curious and dipped my finger in the oil to taste it. I took a lick and it had this strangely sour tinge with this alfredo tasting background. It was actually pretty good! I looked at the meat however and noticed She had not given me any utensils. I glanced over to the Yautja's that had talked to me and saw that they were eating with their hands.

I shrugged once and picked it up to take a bite. The meat was tough, slightly chewy, but once I bit into it and started chewing I could taste the flavors of the sauce mixing well with the constancy. It reminded me almost of eating extremely thick beef.

I guessed that they were usually used to eating larger quantities of food than a human was. seeing as I got to be only half way done and was feeling full. I managed to pile the rest down before I got up though. On my way out the Female barked at me catching my attention and I walked back over.

"Did I offend you in some way?" I wrote down cautiously. She laughed and began typing.

"No, but I wanted to know what a human thought of our meals."

"Oh!" I said out loud. "It was very good and I deeply enjoyed it." I replied. She slightly bowed her head and I did the same. After that I felt adventured out, and began the walk back. It was still mid day here as far as I could tell.

When then ship was in sight something seemed weird. The guard wasn't there anymore. I immediately flipped from clam to freaking out thinking he may have gone on board seeing if there was actually anyone there. I sprinted towards the ship at full speed thinking I was done for.

When I got there however I heard a roar in the distance. I spun on my heels and saw four Yautja stomping their way towards me.

"_Okay, now I'm done for._" I thought as they got closer. When they were about twenty feet away the lead one activated some triangle laser that locked on me. I knew exactly what the object on his shoulder would do if he fired it. I panicked and waved my arms around in the air yelling wait!_  
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"Hold on, hold on don't shoot! We can work this out!" I screamed frantically while clumsily fumbling the wrist computer in my hand. I saw the blue glow coming from the cannon as I was typing.

"STOP! Just tell me what's going on and I'll try and help!" Is what the screen said as I hide behind it defensively like a shield. The lead one tilted his head slightly at reading the writing I had just put up and came closer. He roared angrily expecting me to know what he was saying.

"Please forgive me but I do not speak or understand the audio form of your language!" I thought for sure he was going to just blast me out of frustration. Then he opened his wrist computer as three of the others started walking towards me. I wasn't too sure what was about to happen so I kept my head down when they got in range. But they all just walked right past me towards the ship. I wanted to scream in terror for a second telling them not to go in there but I kept my mouth shut.

"Why are you here?!" The reply said.

"Why do you wish to know?" I texted back. He roared and started coming towards me.

"I AM A PET!" I wrote down quickly. He read it then his wrist blades jutted out. My eyes widened as I slowly started backing up. I bumped into one of the Yautja coming back off the ship. I heard them all talking to one another and saw the lead shaking his head.

"Where is Denj-ah?!" He impatiently wrote.

"He's not here, why?" I asked.

"Tell us and you'll live." My heart skipped a beat for a moment. I didn't know who these guys were but they didn't seem to like him.

"He's dead." "_And I might about to be too._" I thought. I saw the lead look confused to his friend and they all shrugged. He started coming closer and I felt my skin turn white.

"Really I'm not lying! I can take you to the body!" I wrote while he was about to make a swipe at me. He hesitated for a second then grabbed me by the neck.

"Stop! Gah, I submit. Jus..." I spoke while trailing off and trying to write more text with the details in it. He squeezed my neck tightly and I gasped trying to breath but couldn't. My hands grew weak, and started to shake uncontrollably. I dropped the computer by accident and griped his hand trying to get free.

"_This is how it ends... I'm going to die here._" I thought while I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3: Walking among them

**Authors notes.**** Hey guys! Wow, this story got more attention then I thought it would. Thank you guys for the supportive reviews, and critics are also welcome. Sorry I haven't actually updated it in a while though, there has been a lot of family drama as well as friend drama and on top of all the their is someone who I am also very interested in. So without further ado, the continuation of The odd one out. **

I never remembered actually waking up, just that I was zoned out laying against a cold metallic surface. My eyes blurred and I slowly started to blink to restore my vision. Upon regaining my sight I looked around observing the small iron cage I seemed to be sitting in.

"_Did I fall asleep in the cargo hold again?_" I thought before realizing that there were never any metal cages in the old cargo hold. I sat up and leaned against the bars trying to remember what was going on. Then it hit me, the ship had taken off, and I wound up on that planet. But I was a little fuzzy on how I got here though. I tried focusing more then I jumped a little when I felt the ship I was in started bumping around a bit. The humming sound that I hadn't noticed before lowered it's pitch.

"_What in the name of..."_ Then I remembered the Yautja! There was four of them I recalled, and they seemed to be seeking whoever my "Master" was. I felt my neck and it had become very sore from the leader choking me out. I questioned if should keep up the pet thing around whoever these people were, or whoever I would meet in the future.

Then I saw one of them walk out of a hall and towards the cage. His mask looked different from the others. His had a light attached to the side, and it had a more sleek design that looked like it contoured to his facial structure more. The slots where his eyes should have been were covered by lenses instead of the normal looking mesh many seemed to favor. This wasn't the leader, but he was one of the four.

He bent down and looked me over while I sat in the cage. It seemed almost like he was chuckling the way he kept making that clicking sound. He let out a weak low bark that I had no idea how to respond to. He didn't seem angry like his leader was but I had no idea what he wanted.

"Umm, I don't understand the vocal form of your language." I repeated to him. He laughed shortly while walking out of sight, then returned a minute later with a wrist computer.

"_He... he didn't understand me. Did he?_" I though while he wrote something down on the screen. He flashed it to me but kept it out of my reach.

"You know how not to activate the self destruct on one of these, correct?" He asked. Now I understood his caution before he let me use it. I had no idea how to respond without using it so I just nodded my head and hoped he got the message. After doing so he tossed the computer threw the bars and onto my lap. I picked it up and started to write before I stopped.

"May I ask where we are? Or where we are going?" I asked out loud. He just stood there tilting his head slightly before another came threw the same hallway. This one was also one of the four, his mask looked war torn. I saw what looked like a few bullet impacts above the right eye, and it looked like it also had some kind of fire damage to it as well going from the chin up to the left.

He walked over and started speaking to the other in front of me. While they conversed I took the time to inspect more of what I could see from my cage. This cargo hold was vastly different from the ship I had come to know over three years. Instead of a boxy square design it was large and round. Like taking a circle then halving it. On the flat side of the room the doorway was directly in the middle, with strange looking machines or equipment off to both sides. The cage I sat in seemed more towards the rounded out wall. It was hard to tell with the amount of clutter this room had. To the side of me on my right there looked like door controls. To my left there was some odd looking object under a tarp. And across from me there were huge boxes piled up.

In the middle of the room there was four pillars, two connecting to the off ramp, and two more about four feet behind them. I was so busy looking around that I hadn't noticed when one of the Yautja left. Now it was just me and the same one with the sleek mask. He unlocked the cage then yanked his head to the side as if to signal me out of my cell.

I went to stand then clumsily hit my head and proceeded out. When I stood before him he offered me this odd circular looking device.

"Do not move human." He typed down. I nodded in response seeing as he wasn't trying to kill me yet. He then opened the circular object and attached it to my neck like a noose. He pointed to his wrist computer with his finger and pressed a button. I instantly felt a jolt run through my system confirming my suspicion of it being some kind of control device. It wasn't painful, but I felt like he was showing me what it could do should I make mistakes.

"Where are we?" I asked him with the computer.

"We are in high orbit over Yatress, our homeworld." He answered. Then he rested his hand on my shoulder and began pushing me down the hallway. From what I could see this ship was much larger in size than the other. This ones main hall looked enormous! It had to be at least two and a half football fields long, and was also very wide as well. If I had to guess then it was maybe ten or fifteen feet wide.

Walking down the main hall I saw many Yautja everywhere. Some wore masks that looked identical, others were walking out of different rooms that I couldn't identify. I typed down a question while we were walking as to where he was leading me, but I ended up erasing it once we had arrived.

We both strolled into the bridge area and for a brief moment all heads turned towards me. Many of the Yautja here wore masks and were standing around the outline of the circular room. Few wore different masks but many the same. The ones that weren't were standing next to consoles and unarmored. I saw their leader from before in the desert standing off to the side. He wore the same mask and his sight seemed glued on me. Their real leader however, was standing in the middle of the very large round room.

He wore some kind of strange armor with trinkets hanging off the shoulders, and had a golden looking mask at his side. He gazed behind to see me and his eyes seemed inquisitive instead of harsh. But he turned back to the huge holographic screen in front of him that was showing another Yautja wearing some kind of blue/teal looking robe with paterns on it. The two spoke something and the screen cut out revealing empty space and a huge dark orange planet with swirling white cloud patterns. Then the one who choked me out stepped towards us.

Instinctively my body wanted to back away from the threat, but the hand on my shoulder kept me firmly rooted. He growled and I looked away, then spoke something to the other and before I knew it we were off back down the main hall again. My head was still cluttered with questions such as why I was here or where they were even taking me. I pondered what they would do once I gave them what they wanted.

We came back to the cargo bay, or at least one of the cargo bays on this ship, and I saw the other two from the desert as well. The same one with the war torn mask and another with a smaller looking mask. They all spoke something to each other then one of them opened the hatch and a lot of dust blew into the room.

I was worried if it would be toxic to me at all or if I could even breath it. Then I remembered I had been sharing the same air with them for who knows how long now. The one with the sleek mask waved his hand motioning me over. I took a couple of steps and looked out only to see that we were still flying through the air. I stopped walking and grabbed onto one of the pillars for dear life. The rest of them just laughed but knowing my clumsiness I didn't want to accidentally fall out.

Then I saw the ships speed slow and the four of them hoped out. Cautiously, I stepped forward towards the edge and looked over only to see a ten foot drop and the others there waiting for me. I had no time to react however as I felt gravity changing again from that of the ships. Then suddenly I was flung from the platform and hurdling towards the ground. I screamed in terror not knowing what was happening and having my senses messed with.

The one of the Yautja caught me right out of the air before I hit the ground. I looked up into the eyes of the war torn mask only to feel a chill run down my spine. He set me down but I fell to my knees again feeling how difficult it was to stand here. Their homeworld's gravity weighed on me like I was being crushed by a compactor. Not only that but it was also difficult to breath. After a minute of struggle I managed to shakily stand to my feet. My heart pounded blood through my system harder to answer the demands of my surroundings but I managed to walk.

Up ahead in the distance I saw a huge city with tall standing buildings and flying vehicles zipping around them. The structures themselves had these odd looking boxy patterns overlaying the materiel of the buildings. Some buildings looked like they had different layers getting smaller as they went up. I also saw huge high standing trees that had twisted around parts of the city and grown right along some of the buildings. But what I would have had to say would be the oddest thing about this place would be the smells. For some reason, the air carried the sent of the tropics. But this place looked dusty, and from what I could see other than the city almost barren.

The Yautja that I had first assumed to be their leader was up ahead, signalling me to follow. I strained myself to keep up at their pace they were walking at, and coughed violently. The one with the sleek mask looked back at me and barked to the others. Their leader seemed pissed, because he opened up his wrist computer and started yelling at it for some reason. I breathed heavily for a moment then tried taking more steps. But the Yautja with the war torn mask stopped me and shook his head.

"Wait." He told me through text. I had no idea what was wrong, I mean sure I was winded from being here but I was still willing to walk. The others just kind of... sat there. The leader was starring off at the city, the one with the smaller mask sat down cross legged and relaxed, the one with the sleek mask started just fiddling with his computer, and the last with the war torn mask just stood there motionless occasionally looking at me. It was a very odd scene to be seeing then I saw something speeding towards us.

I couldn't make out exactly what it was from the speed it was coming at us but I felt nervous. They all gathered shoulder to shoulder and waited while I stood behind them. I felt like getting out of the way but the one with the sleek mask turned around and rested his hand on my shoulder, pushing me forward. I had no idea what was about to happen but it didn't look like whatever it was, was slowing down. I flinched at the last minute when I heard the roar the engine overpowering my ears.

I waited with my eyes closed, scared out of my mind. Then I heard nothing... no noise at all save but the wind. I opened my eyes again to see the long body of what looked almost like a flying car. The long triangular shape of the craft looked a little more bulky in the back with a more sleek pointed front end. The body of the craft looked like it was four feet high as it floated in place, and maybe fifteen long. It was dark blue with white symbols painted on the side. Either they were just some form of art, or I hadn't learned their complete language.

The four Yautja hoped up onto the craft while I stood there beside it. It's not that I didn't want to follow them, it's that the vehicle hovered just above my head. And I was about 6'0 foot. I jumped as high as I could and grabbed onto the side but I couldn't pull myself up with their gravity weighing me down. I began panting and getting ready to try again when the leader roared in frustration and hoped down again. He then flung me high into the air and I landed in the middle of the vehicle. The Yautja with the smaller mask began laughing madly.

There weren't many seats of I sat against the wall. The driver looked back then suddenly we darted off at full speed again. The wind whipped through my hair and over my shoulders. It almost even started to hurt how fast we were going. I looked to the other and they were just sitting normally and still.

"_Wish I had a mask so this wouldn't suck at much!_" I thought. _  
><em>

I didn't get to look around much with the speed of the wind hitting my face constantly, but I knew we were at least within the city limits. Then, almost seemingly out of nowhere, we slowed so rapidly that I couldn't believe I wasn't being thrown from the craft. I pondered for a moment if this thing used to same kind of tech that manipulated gravity as their ships did. Then I sat up more and saw we were at the top of many steps and that in front of us there was a huge building complex with walls surrounding it.

It looked maybe no more than three stories tall but it was massively expansive. The Yautja with the war torn mask was the first off, then the others followed. Finally when it came my turn I hoped off and just about face planted on the stone flooring. I picked myself up rubbing the side of my aching head and hurried along with the others.

As we walked through the large open gate and onto the grounds of what I assumed to be their home I noticed that none of the four were splitting off into separate directions, but were actually waiting on me as I observed their home. I hurried and caught up while I was still looking around. This place had some of those beautiful trees growing in the courtyard, and while the paths were still these smooth stone bricks, off of them it turned into dirt and gravel. The building we were walking up to had these long dark red pillars holding up a part of the roof overhead and also served as the entrance.

"Where are we going?" I typed to the one with the war torn mask. He looked over his shoulder to me, but never answered.

"You shall see soon enough human." The one with the smaller mask told me through text. I started panting again from the amount of energy I was burning just trying to stay fast walking with them. I slowed down just a bit, but the one with the sleek mask turned to see me.

"Just a little farther human. We are nearly there." He said.

I pushed myself just a little more to keep on their good side and finally we walked into a larger square courtyard area that had a awesome tree standing in the middle with flat dirt and grass surrounding it. The whole open square area was surrounded by the two story building with the dark red pillars standing just in front of the walls holding a portion of the overhanging roof.

In the middle standing beside the tree was a single Yautja wearing a blue robe with teal vertical line patterns going up to his neckline. The four walked up to him as I followed then they suddenly all kneeled down on one knee in front of him. I went stiff for a second not knowing what to do until I knelt down as well right behind them.

I heard them start talking to one another but I dared not look up. Any sign of disrespect here might not turn out well for me I thought. I heard each of them speak, then I heard what sounded like a grunt followed by the sounds of shuffling feet. I glanced up to see them standing again conversing with their "Master" I guess. I forced myself off my knees and stood there waiting.

After a minute when they all stopped talking the one in the robes stepped towards me. I had no idea what was happening so I remained still. He walked around me in a circle while my eyes followed him. It was almost like he was inspecting me for flaws or something. Then he walked in front of me back towards the others as they were lined up facing us. He barked at them then just... walked away towards one of the doors on the walls. Curious, I got my computer out.

"What just happened?" I asked them.

"You say you know where the body of Denj-ah is, correct?" Their leader asked.

"Yes, I can take you right to it." I told him without hesitation. He growled then spoke something to the others. After that we all started walking back the way we came out of the building complex. I saw the gate up ahead and felt a pang of sadness. I wanted to stay, and learn more about their culture. Given that this may not have been the time for such things however I followed without question.

We left the walled in area and were back at the steps again. For a moment I thought we were going to walk the whole way to wherever we were heading but then another vehicle that looked almost the same came to pick us up. The others hoped on like last time but the one with the sleek mask stayed down to pick me up. I motioned him not to with my hand then backed up a little for a running start. I was five feet away then sprinted as hard as I could and jumped. I grabbed the side of the vehicle and used my momentum to help carry me over.

Then I fell over the edge and landed on my back on the floor of the transport. I looked up to see the Yautja with the sleek mask looking down at me while chuckling.

"Impressive human." He said while taking a seat. I leaned against the wall panting from exhaustion and relaxed as the wind whipped across my face again.

I tried looking around again while we were moving and noticed that we didn't actually leave the complex where their home was. We had just started flying over it and farther back. I was amazed at how big the walled in area was. But then, just as quickly as we took off we were setting down again. This time near a smaller ship that looked more rectangular with bulky sides, small stubby wings and a round front end. There were two engines resting at the ends of the small wings facing forwards.

The others jumped out and I did the same this time not hitting my head. We all walked towards the ship and the leader activated the ramp with his wrist computer. I was genuinely surprised! I had no idea these devices were capable of so much. Then as we were boarding I noticed that there were flood lights piled in one of the corners of the cargo bay, and a human generator sat near the workstation that had papers everywhere.

"This is my ship! O-or at least the ship I've come to know over three years haha." I said out loud then correcting myself.

It felt nice being back on board the familiar craft again. I quickly ran past them and to the workstation. It was so great being back that I just started sifting through the papers again. Most were my work on translating their language, and others were ideas of what parts of the ship did and what I was piecing together on my own. Then it hit me! I now knew what this ship looked like! I had never known before because I never dared to uncloak it on Earth, and on Emodis I was so caught up with everything I never took notice of it's appearance.

I looked behind me to see the four Yautja starring at me then the leader growled and started off for the bridge. The one with the war torn mask and the other with the smaller mask looked to each other then followed him. However, the last one with the sleek mask stayed behind with me, and walked towards me.

"Your work?" He asked through text. I nodded my head and he gave a hardy laugh.

"Why were you so interested in our language?" He asked looking over my papers on the table.

"Well, I wanted to find out more about your people, your culture, and how your society worked." I told him.

"But what drives you though?" He inquired. I was about to write down my response when he stopped my hand, then he pointed to his throat. I was confused for only a moment, then I gasped!

"So you can understand me!" I said out loud. He chuckled then wrote.

"Yes, many who spend their time around humans learn to pick up your languages fairly easily." He told me. I was shocked to say the least, then I caught what he said, and gulped.

"So you visit Earth a lot huh?" I asked while scratching the back of my neck. He laughed again.

"Not all of our race are comprised of hunters, some are scholars. But you never answered my question." He spoke while setting my papers neatly down on the table.

"It's... I don't think you would understand." I Sighed out. He looked particularly interested in hearing more but I really didn't feel like going into it. Then the one with the smaller mask walked back into the cargo bay and said something to him. He looked to me and wrote.

"Have you tampered with this ships engine room?" He asked while looking surprised.

"Uh yes. But only a little though I swear!" I started off down the hall for the engine room. Upon my arrival I saw the one with the war torn mask looking confused at all of the human computers I had integrated into the system.

"What is all of this?" He asked.

"I umm... over the course of three years while I was researching this ship. I had learned how to reverse engineer just enough of this ships technical systems to install some computers from my world. They're just monitoring equipment, I swear!" I told them.

"Well can you take them offline? I need to tune this ships engines for faster than light travel." He told me. I really didn't want to piss anyone off here so I did as I was asked. When I had finished powering off my equipment I severed the cables just to make him happier. He looked at me for a moment while I was setting my stuff down over in a corner before he started doing his own thing.

"You even understand our technology?" The one with the sleek mask asked me when I was done. I laughed for the first time in what felt like forever since all this had started while I was reading the text.

"Well not as much as you might think, no. I got lucky while figuring out how to hook up a few computers. But while I was exploring the ships bridge console I accidentally made it send me to Emodis. Hence how all this happened." I told him. It's weird, I never thought having a conversation with an alien from another race would feel so... natural.

"Well you are lucky the ship didn't rip itself to pieces. Not tuning an engine of this size and power coupled with the fact that you made it get up and jump to faster than light travel after three years on such short notice... you are a very lucky human." The one with the sleek mask told me. I chuckled nervously at realizing just how close I had come to getting killed by accident.

Then the leader walked into the small room with us and spoke something to the one with the war torn mask who was working at the console. He barked something back and I heard their leader growl again before leaving the room fast.

"I-is he okay?" I asked.

"He has a short patience span, and a bad temper." He told me back. Then the one with the smaller mask said something before laughing and leaving the room.

"And him?"

"She is going to relax and rest in Denj-ah's quarters." I felt a momentary pang of embarrassment not being able to recognize That he was actually a she. Then the one with the sleek mask turned towards me and asked.

"What else have you done with Denj-ah's ship?" I cracked a smile and motioned him to follow me.

"I haven't actually done much else. But when I first found this ship I started a video diary three years ago." I said while walking back to the bridge room. I entered to see their leader over at the console tapping away at the controls. I also saw my camcorder still on the console too.

"_Right where I left it._" I thought. I walked over to retrieve it when he gave a fierce bark at me. I grabbed it fast and quickly got away from him. I then proceeded to waltz back over to my new friend and show him the funny recording of when I first found this ship. He laughed at seeing me so enthusiastic and clueless. But the battery died before it went into detail.

I shrugged my shoulders and apologized. Then their leader was talking to the console to who I could only assume was the Yautja wearing the war torn mask.

"Hey, how did this ship end up here? On your planet." I asked him.

"We sent codes and locations telling the ship where to go by remote. First we had to crack the security but thanks to me that part was easy. After Teah-loc had rendered you unconscious, we contacted the ship we had arrived in. Emodis and Yatress are relatively close. So this ship had little trouble making it." He told me.

"Oh alright. Well when do you think we'll be returning to Earth?" I inquired. But as I did the leader heard me and yelled something from the chair. I remained quiet after that and looked to the one with the sleek mask. He only chuckled and wrote down.

"Very soon." I shrugged and went to return to my workstation.

While I was organizing and picking papers up off the floor I felt the ship begin to rumble and then I knew we were underway back to Earth. I let a sigh of relief out that I didn't even realize I was holding. Then I remembered my lucky charm, and walked back to the bridge to retrieve it.

However, when I came through the doorway I saw them all gathered around the table in the center of the room that displayed a holographic star map. They were discussing something but I had no idea what. I saw the tape on the ground near the console and walked over to pick it up. But their leader would have none of it. He saw me walking towards the console and roared violently. I shakily pointed to the tape on the ground and saw the one with the sleek mask nod his head telling me it was alright.

I grabbed the tape and ran for the doorway again. When I was back at the workstation I caught my breath and relaxed. I sat down holding my lucky charm in my hand and smiled. I was finally going home I thought. I arched my back and rested against the workstation closing my eyes.

"_Might as well get some sleep while I can._" I thought while sighing happily.


	4. Chapter 4: Bad memories

"And so, Allen Phoenix on the behalf of nations all over the world, I am proud to present to you the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. For not only achieving interstellar travel onboard a non-human craft but for also facilitating communication with an advanced extraterrestrial people. You have not only made your country proud, but your people as a race too." The spokesmen said passing the medal off to me.

I was so happy and full of glee I could just explode! My hands were so jittery from all the excitement that I almost dropped the medal immediately after he gave it to me. But the only thing running through my mind after everything that had happened was that it was finally worth it and made up for what happened. If only my grandfather could see me now.

I strolled down the red carpet meeting the gentle breeze and the roaring voices of many thousands of people. The air was so thick with confetti that I could barely see the afternoon sky, and loud music blared seemingly from nowhere. My stride quickened and there were several bounces in my step from joy! I saw a black limo awaiting me at the end of my crimson path and I hurried towards it. I thought it odd for a moment seeing the door open by itself but didn't pay it much thought as I flew into the vehicle.

Once inside and the door closed the world around me seemed mute. I could still see the excitement in the crowds beyond the tinted windows but could barely hear anything. That's when I heard an all too familiar clicking sound coming from within the car. My head shot forward as my eyes darted around, but I felt my heart sink in my chest as they quickly locked onto the hulking figure sitting across from me at the other end of the limo. I almost instantly recognized the bulky mask that belonged to the Yautja warrior, and he didn't seem too pleased.

The rapid clicking and tone changed, but it only served as a reminder that I knew not what the leader of my four friends was saying. I opened my mouth to tell him what he probably already knew, but I nearly yelped in surprise at feeling something soft and smooth against my neck. I slumped back far into the seat to view what was touching me and to my great surprise and confusion, there was a woman I hadn't noticed before sitting next to me. She was more than sending clear signals as she constantly tried to smother me with her lips. But I refused every advance, pushing her away and trying to figure out what was going on here.

Teah-loc's bark quickly caught my attention, and I saw his hand hovering over his wrist computer with a single digit looming over one button. I was confused to say the least, but it was only until he pressed it did things suddenly become clear. The woman's lips that once dragged across my neck suddenly and violently turned into this burning feeling I couldn't escape. My body jolted in response to the shock of the horrible device I had been collared with; I couldn't scream, breath, or focus on anything little more than the pain. I desperately dug my fingers into the side of my neck in an attempt to yank the collar off. But my efforts only intensified the torture I was under.

My vision strained because of the electricity, but I had all the confirmation I needed that the experience was only a dream when I saw my four captors starring down at me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything! Whatever would make their leader halt this waking nightmare! But it was all for not, as my vocal cords were spasming and the simple task of forming words felt insurmountable.

I struggled to reach out in an attempt to beg but instead witnessed the only one among them that was the closest thing I had to a friend, actually grabbed Teah-loc's wrist and pulled it away from the trigger. I sharply inhaled then hunched over and proceeded to vigorously cough my lungs out! I heard growling going on in the background while my breath continued to hitch between gasps. But I had an inkling that for once it was not directed towards me.

When I finally was able to normalize my breathing patterns I slumped back against the workbench and relaxed slightly. Everything felt numb, my hands, chest, even my feet for some reason. I wondered how many watts I had been blasted with when I felt light-headed. My eyes drifted upwards to meet the reflective visor of my captor, although at the moment I saw him more as my rescuer.

"..." I opened my mouth trying to form words but nothing. My neck felt nonexistent after the ordeal and I momentarily panicked in a fit of breathing heavily. I was stopped short however after my "hero" wrote down something quick and held it to my face.

"Fear not, your voice will return to you. Think of it as only a temporary side effect." I felt less tense after reading it and dug my hand into my pocket to retrieve my wrist computer.

"Why even shock me in the first place?" I entered. But the on-screen words simply couldn't carry enough of my displeasure with them. He began his reply, but it seemed to take him much longer for this particular message. I took the time to stand to my feet, leaning against the table for support from the pain. When he finally did show me what he had been typing, my jaw dropped.

"Well you see, it's not like we didn't try waking you with more peaceful methods. We tried speaking to you and when that failed Tilisieus-vae tried shaking you. But you were muttering something about, "no kissing" and that is when Teah'loc lost his patients." I couldn't believe what I had read. I lightly shook my head while face palming.

"So, are we at Earth?" I wrote back after the moment of embarrassment had subsided into an uncomfortable silence.

"Yes actually. We are cloaked in orbit over the continent where this ship sat for three years. We came to collect you to verify the location we would be landing."

I nodded and watched them filing into the hall on their way back to the bridge. I started to walk but stumbled my feet in pain, nearly colliding with the female Yautja when I grabbed onto the wall. Her mask shot towards me in one swift motion, almost as if she was giving me a death glare. I assumed she was probably Tilisieus-vae, and not too happy I had embarrassed her. Then just like that, she continued with the rest. I sighed a breath of relief I wasn't even aware I was holding and hobbled along behind.

At the bridge, I saw a holographic globe of Earth floating in the middle of the room with a red blip centered in Northern America. I recognized the region, but it was a little odd seeing exactly where my house was from space on a map for the first time. Then the globe suddenly was enhanced and started zooming in on the states where the blip was. Very soon, I saw an overview of the mountains where my grand fathers cabin was.

"That's my house, and there's where I took off." I groaned out before coughing. I pointed to the structure, then to the gap between trees.

Teah-loc said something before turning to the console to, what I could only assume was to make the ship land. The central viewing area was closed during our decent, which was a real pity. I would have so loved to see the planet approaching and witnessed seeing the clouds parting to a familiar sight of the land I called home. I had the thought to request it, but I could neither do so nor wanted to for obvious reasons.

After he was done, we all turned and walked back to the cargo hold together. I was in front but once arriving I had the thought to open the hatch, although I didn't know if it was actually safe or not. The last thing I wanted was to depressurize the cabin and get sucked out. But after a moment, the one with the war-torn mask stepped up and did the honors. There was a loud hiss as the ramp lowered and a gust of wind hit me in the face. The feeling of taking that first breath of fresh cool mountain air was as pleasant as it was welcomed and the usual scent of pine trees put me at ease that I was finally home. The ramp lowered into the mud and the smells of newly soaked dirt greeted my nostrils, making me feel much less tense.

The fabled scene of seeing astronauts walking across a long blacktop came to mind while I was stepping down the ramp and into dusk's fading sunlight. Oh what people would have thought of me if they knew the truth. I began up the incline thinking it'd be tougher to manage since it was also wet, but something felt out of place. I didn't get much time to ponder it though as the sound of an electric clicking caught my attention instead. I spun on my heels only to bare witness that my four captors were dematerializing before my eyes. In their places were now four outlines of bodies that were see through. I had seen this done before, but I associated no good memories with it.

I turned knowing they'd be right behind me, somewhere, and continued up the hillside. The short trek to the cabin was weird to say the least. Each step felt so light, and maneuvering around large rocks felt so easy I might as well have vaulted right over them. I guessed the abnormal gravity was due to recently being in much harsher environments on other worlds. It wasn't what I was expecting, to say the least. I had heard stories of people coming back from space far more weaker and unable to stand most of the time. It kind of made me feel awesome being opposite in this case.

I darted out of the brush on the far side of the house seeing the two-story light blue building. I ran around to the door and jumped up the steps. The tall dark brown door was still unlocked from however long ago I left. I didn't think I would have left to go anywhere. I entered and quickly jogged up the stairs and to my room to retrieve the keys to the shed. Once inside I strolled over to my desk that I kept most of the important things in. Filing through the assorted papers and notes I found the keys in a small holder and reached to get them. Turning around, however, was much more exciting.

"AH! Oh my god, what the hell man?!" I yelped out in terror at seeing one of the outlines of the four in my own room. It was difficult to make out which of the four it was from only seeing an outline as I stood there panting.

"I needed to get these, before I could help you." I told whoever it was jingling the keys in front of them. They didn't seem to respond, but just stood there watching. It was unnerving, to say the least. Clearing my throat and feeling some of my bodily senses returning to me, I made for the door seeing them remaining impassive. I walked back out down the short hallway, took a right down the flight of stairs and was out the door in no time. All the running around combined with feeling light on my feet was definitely helping me recover faster from the shock treatment.

I strolled around back to the small white toolshed just on the edge of the compact clearing around my house. All the while I looked around for the other outlines of my new "friends" but saw nothing. Although I knew they were watching me though. Unlocking the door, I opened it and grabbed a shovel near the front. My eyes, however, drifted to the back where an old Remington shotgun was hanging from the wall.

"... No, not this time." I muttered under my breath, slamming the door and relocking it. I waltz back out into the open trying to spot at least one outline but still, no such luck.

"Hey! You guys?! I need you to follow me now!" I yelled out as loud as I could muster. Then suddenly hearing electric clicking all around me, seeing them reveal themselves one by one. It was a real trip seeing them all so close, but not even being able to tell a moment ago.

"Not far from here there's an unmarked grave. That's where Denj-ah is." I told them. They all nodded in agreement at once, which I found... weird. Then wasted no more time in leading them out into the forest again. To an old enemy I hoped I'd never have to see again.

The surroundings were a little different from being out here four years ago, but I'd never forget where I put the one nightmare that haunted me till today. We continued through thick brush, across a few small streams and came to an old large rock resting in front of a tall pine. I noticed that everything was quiet on the way out here. No chirping birds, nor other wildlife were out. I thought it strange but remembered I was in strange company.

"Alright, this is it. He's right under here." I said gripping the small boulder. Huffing a few times and throwing all my weight at it wasn't enough as it has not only rooted, but was difficult to budge in the mud. Right before I was about to request some help, Teah-loc crouched beside me holding the rock. Then sent it rolling out of the way and into another tree five feet away on his way back up to my surprise.

"Right... well then, I guessed I'll just start digging haha." I chuckled out nervously. I drove the head of the shovel hard into the ground, lifting out as much as possible at a time. It was made easier due to the recent rain while I was away. But as I started getting a tad bit farther down I found myself actually tiring from working. I guess I got a little carried away with feeling like superman from the gravity changes.

"Hey, would it be okay if, I went to get some water?" I panted out sitting on the tiny ledge I had dug out. I heard Teah'loc starting to say something in their language, but what however, I would never know. Although he did seem pretty annoyed while speaking, which is why what happened next caught me off guard the most. The one in the war-torn mask just straight up punched him across his face, and said nothing. Whoever he was, it was clear that HE was in command of their team. After that Teah'loc remained silent as the forest around us. I had no wish to piss anyone off further after that and quickly dove back down into the dirt as if I was a mole. On one of the hauls when I drove the head of the shovel down there was a loud clunk noise that resonated from the hole.

"Hey, I found him." I spoke looking out of the four and a half foot hole I was in, and seeing them all leaning over as if they expected me to be a liar. I lifted the dirt away and saw a piece of metal underneath. Continuing, I hastily uncovered the rest of the dirt from the surface of the lightly decomposed body, letting it be shown bare to the rest of my captors.

"As I've promised, the corpse of Denj-ah." I told them panting. Just then Mr. sleek mask and his girlfriend jumped down into the pit and I took it as a sign to get out and let them do their thing. I stepped away sticking the head of the spade into the ground and resting against the wooden pole for support. The whole ordeal of excavating the deceased body of a Yautja left me feeling a little more than exhausted. While I stood there I watched Teah-loc looking to and from the grave back to me. He slowly began walking towards me giving me a sense of sheer terror as I couldn't imagine him being very happy. I tried looking away and keeping my head down, but my eyes never halted from lingering in his direction.

He got pretty close like he was eying me top to bottom. But I saw that behind him the one with the war mask was still watching. I only hopped this meant I was partly safe. Then, I heard a cutting sound coming from the grave. He didn't even turn to see what was happening so I leaned in a little to see the head of Denj-ah now being held high in the air. I gulped before hearing them give short barks to one another and the sleek mask stepped towards me with his wrist computer out.

"Thank you for leading us to the body of one of our greatest rivals. We are to return with his head, and you, to Yatress." I read out with a raised eyebrow at the end.

"Wait hold on, I understand giving you a ride back and all. But I'm not staying there am I?" I questioned aloud with a slight hint of desperation in my voice.

"We are to take you and the head back to out grand-master. He will be seeking answers as to how this happened, and then pass judgment."

"And by judgment, you mean simply thanking me after he has his proof right?"

"That is for him to decide." Reading made me feel more uncomfortable not knowing what to expect out of this. They all turned as a group and started off for the ship again, although I was momentarily lost in thought from his last message. A jolt ran through my system again from the collar and I looked up to see Teah-loc seeming very impatient. I plucked the shovel from the ground and ran to catch up with them almost tripping in the process. We came straight back to the ship but as the ramp was lowering I felt as though I still had some unfinished business.

"Wait," I said getting their attention. "I'm not quite ready to leave yet." I saw Teah-loc holding his wrist as to threaten me onto the ship.

"Please, can I just... can I just pay my respects to my dead grandfather before we go?" I asked holding my hand out in a stopping motion. The war mask looked to the sleek and nodded, then sleek walked towards me again.

"Five minutes." He told me. I smiled thanking him before jogging off for the house again. I came out through the clearing in the backyard looking to my right to see the white tool shed. Running around it my grandfather's grave was on the other side a few feet away.

"Hey! I've got big news! Although, you probably already know that by now." I said to the headstone while kneeling at the foot of the grave. "You remember that night when everything changed? Well, remember how I said that one day I'd make sense of it all? I feel like now, things might finally be coming to a close. Or, that I'll know more of why it happened. ...I still remember what you told me, before..." I trailed off beginning to sob. I looked up at my grandpa's headstone with teary eyes.

"Thank you for never losing hope in me. I promise, I'll settle things when I get back." I said touching the stone where it said, Darren Trent. The tears finally ran down my cheek and I wiped them away before rising to my feet. I sighed smiling knowing that everything would work itself out now. The sleek mask walked up beside me catching me unaware until I was about to turn around.

"Were they dear to you?" He showed me when I read what was on the screen.

"Yeah, he was." I answered. "I never did get your name?" I said looking up to him.

"Traditionally, we only officially declare names once we acknowledge the others as equals. But I think you've earned the right to know me by daez-ayah." I read. Then he pulled the computer from his wrist and I watched him push a few buttons on it before handing it over to me. I had no idea what he was doing until he pointed to a button on it with his finger. I pointed to it as well questioningly and he nodded. I pushed it then he began speaking something in his language, although I didn't understand the purpose of this little charade. I looked back to the computer which was now displaying words across the screen that hadn't been there a second ago.

"Whoa, you mean you don't have to type anymore?" He laughed at that then spoke something else, which I almost forgot to push the button to translate.

"If you are to speak to the grand-master then it'd be best if the conversation didn't keep pausing." He told me. I smiled and thanked him for the new mode of conversation then we both walked off for the ship.

The ride back to Yatress was a little uneventful. Instead of joining the rest of them on the bridge I opted for the safety of the cargo hold. Being on the other end of the ship from Teah-loc felt like the best thing to do. I was sitting next to the workbench for what felt like an hour maybe before I saw all four of them standing near the hallway. I jumped and marveled at how easy it was for them to simply be unheard even though how big they are. Then I heard Tilisieus-vae say something to the rest.

"-ot waking him up again." Was all I managed to get after holding the button. I did a piss poor job of holding my laughter in at reading it.

"I'm sorry about that, by the way." I said out loud to her. Although they didn't seem as amused as I was. I shrugged before getting to my feet brushing myself off.

"Umm, did something happen?" I asked.

"We've notified the grand-master we're on our way back, he'll meet us while when we disembark at the port." Sleek told me.

"Oh cool, how far out are we?"

"ten minutes, we came to check on you." he replied.

"Well, thanks! But uh, I could do without the collar though. And besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere." I said fiddling with it before it awarded me with a light shock.

"Sorry, but the collar remains until after the grand-master has spoken with you." Teah-loc said surprisingly calm. I nodded in response then barely felt the ship shift as it slowed. I was a little curious as to the sudden time gap.

"I thought you said ten minutes?" I asked.

"This ship has always been a little fast." Daez-ayah said. I noticed Teah-loc was slightly gazing down at that comment as if he was off in thought about something before snapping back.

"Well now that you've made a friend, how about we go dock and get this over with." He said to Dae-zah before fast walking off down the hall. Tilisieus and the war torn guy stayed behind with me however. Since we were about to be back on their home planet and I couldn't think of a better time than now I decided to be brave and ask a question. I waltz over and cleared my throat getting their attention but when both masks looked straight at me I felt like shrinking away as if I was insane.

"Umm... So, why has Teah-loc been so angry?" Tilisieus unfurled her arms from being crossed at the mention of his name and I felt like I was about to get my ass beat. Then the Yautja baring the war-torn mask spoke, his voice sounding deep and the clicking was almost as if it was from a motor without a roaring engine.

"You stole his bounty, that is why he harbors resentment towards you." He told me. I felt kind of bad, but at the same time it wasn't like I knew. I also made a mental note not to use any names until they officially told me them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. What happened exactly?"

"It is not my place to say, but I can tell you that out of all of us, HE hated Denj-ah the most." He said firmly. Tilisieus said something before I could hold the button to listen, and held the computer up with my finger over the button motioning her to repeat herself while I weakly smiled.

"I said, it'd be best if you don't use our names." She told me in such a way that I only practically see her eyes roll behind her mask.

"Yeah, I kinda got the message on that one." I sighed out feeling relieved she wasn't going to skin me alive.

"I tell you this for your own safety. It would not be wise for an outsider to do such things within our clans own home. Not only that, but you are also Human." I had to raise an eyebrow at the last comment she made when warning me.

"And what have your people got against my kind?" I asked politely.

"Nothing... just that some only view you as just another type of prey and little more." She said. I felt uneasy reading the text and guessing just how many this "some" was. The thought of a Yautja just randomly trying to kill me didn't exactly sit well with me so I knew I would have to stay extra close to my captors. Just then the two others came back down the hallway to inform us that we had arrived. Tilisieus went to pop the hatch while I started preparing myself for the immense gravity change.

The hissing of the ramp was quickly followed by a hot gale of wind blew into the cargo hold. The warmth was kind of relaxing in a funny way, but feeling myself nearly being thrown to the ground by the planet wasn't. The first few steps were the hardest, transitioning from ship to the surface. But I made it by and even managed to keep my head high enough to see the grand-master approaching from their clans home in the distance with a few other Yautja behind him toting spear-like weapons. We had begun walking out across the dusty desert land they used as a shipyard to meet them. While we journeyed across this space the ironic thought of seeing the astronaut walk came to mind again but this time it felt a little more accurate.

We got within ten feet of one another when the four kneeled down and this time I followed them without hesitation. I tried keeping the button held as much as possible to catch everything that was going on here.

"Have you found proof?" Their master inquired.

"Yes, he did not lie about Denj-ah like we suspected." The war masked Yautja retorted.

"Then please, let us see it with our own eyes." He told them. At that moment, we all rose to our feet again and Teah-loc passed the bag containing his head off to their leader. I watched from the back as he yanked it out from the cloth and studied it. The mask itself was filthy, covered in dirt and muck, and the face beneath it couldn't have been better off I'd imagine. Then after he was done he passed it off to a guard behind him and stepped forwards passed the four and straight at me. I felt almost as if I could have broken a finger against the button with how hard I was holding it. I was going to make sure I caught everything he said. He stopped right in front of me three feet away, looking me in the eye.

"How?" He said simply.

"So... do you want the whole story, or just how he died?" I counted his question.

"Everything." His short replies left me wondering if his attention span for me was just as small.

"Well, it happened one night on my planet when me and my grandfather were taking a walk through the forest back to our home. Then, whoever Denj-ah was, came out of nowhere from behind us. I didn't even know what was happening when I saw my grandpa being lifted into the air by nothing, then violently ripped apart in front of my own eyes. I... I ran for my life. I was terrified and going to get help when I sprinted back to our house. I slammed the door behind me locking it thinking I was momentarily safe, but I was wrong. I quickly ran into the kitchen where the closest phone was to call for help, but the line was dead. The I heard a noise from behind, knowing that it was the same thing that got my grandpa, I could just about feel him breathing. I saw the knife holder to my left and in one final desperate act to fight back I grabbed one and spun as fast as I could jamming it straight into his neck. Then I just stood there in shock at seeing him materialize before my eyes revealing himself to me. Although he doubled over gripping the counter for support trying to breath, he could do nothing. The... blood from his wound wasn't too hard to clean up. Although I had no idea what to do, so I hid the body.

When I was able to get the proper authorities on my planet involved they had no idea what to make of my poor grandpa's death, and I didn't exactly want to tell them that some hulking monster came out of nowhere and attacked us. The closest thing they could tell was simply animal mauling, but I knew the truth. A short time after that not knowing exactly what had happened in the first place I got extremely paranoid and started going around the land looking for any unusual track marks. Then one day I just walked into an invisible wall. Now, letting my curiosity get the better of me I eventually found a way to open it, and learned the truth about the monster who attacked us. That they weren't of our world. Then the rest was just me deciphering and translating the text form of your language, and accidentally getting sent to one of your other worlds where I met the four of them." I finally finished pointing to my captors.

Their master was silent for a long time after I finished telling him the last four years of my life. I wondered if he was impressed, or even caring of how I survived the ordeal. Then as if he was curious himself, he started walking in circles around me again. This time I watched him as he went around, taking in every detail of me. He stopped in front of me before folding his hands behind his back.

"I would say that you have done well for yourself, but you were never meant to know of our existence. I am sorry for your lose." He said in a very weird way of speaking english. I was flabbergasted to say the least, and my jaw was literally hanging open in shock. He just talked! Well of course he talked but it was in english! I had no idea that was even possible for them! I thought their vocal system wouldn't allow them to form words like how I knew them.

He started walking away back towards the others while saying something, but I was still too dazed by the fact I had heard english for the first time from one of them to think of pressing the button. I was in luck however when I noticed that I was already holding the button anyway, thinking he would have replied in his own language. But upon reading the on-screen text, my heart began pumping ice through my veins.

"Execute him, then we will return him where he belongs." It read. At seeing the words, I looked up in time to see Teah-loc's wrist blades jut out.

"No... n-no." I repeated taking a step back. How could this happen? And why?!

He grabbed me by the throat again and held his left hand in striking position. It was as if time itself had slowed, and the only real thoughts going through my mind was why? Then, a new one came to me somewhere in the back of my mind. Survival. This wasn't like how it was on Emodis, now I knew he had been ordered to have me killed.

In one swift motion, I kicked my foot out into his throat and held it there choking him right back. If I was to die today, I would at least give it my all into trying to escape. I brought my other foot forward and placed it in his neck as well, holding his wrist to keep him from dropping me. I pulled as hard as I could making him gag then he took an off-balanced swipe at me cutting me behind my right shoulder. I cried out in pain and let go falling hard against the sandy ground, I picked myself up as best I could a second later feeling a stream of blood running down my arm. I looked down holding my shoulder in pain and watched the blood trickling into the sand, staining it. But could still move my hand around just fine, and the pressure from balling a fist felt normal.

I looked up to see him still hunched over coughing and charged forwards clasping both hands together over my head, and then bringing them down hard on the back of his. Although I guessed it had little effect though seeing as how he only slightly budged from the blow, so I kneed him directly in the face as an uppercut. He stumbled backwards now upright and was about to seriously mess me up before one of them barked something to him. I didn't even care who said it or whatever "it" was, my eyes didn't leave him.

I leapt at the momentary distraction and put as much force and weight into a right haymaker as I could possibly muster and jabbed him clear across the mask. The blow however probably hurt me more than him, as I felt the deep cut behind my should feel like it was tearing and striking his mask left cuts on my knuckles. The pain also snapped my senses back to reality feeling how heavy and tired I was getting from giving him my all. I shook my hand from the hit and looked to see him calmly removing his mask. He had two tiny blood trails on the side of his face that I guessed were from me attacking his mask. Then letting it fall out of his hand he looked me right in the eye and retracted his wrist blades. I had no idea why nor did I really care at this point, then he let out a blood-curdling roar which sent a shiver up my spine and dropped into a battle stance.

I saw behind him that the ships hatch was still open if I could somehow trick him into rotating I could try blocking until I got back far enough to escape. Panting, I rushed him throwing a punch right into his gut. I clenched my teeth and I swear I heard my knuckles crunch when I made contact. It was like I had just punched solid brick. I looked up in time to see a fist in my face and the next thing I knew I was literally spinning on my feet from whatever hit me. I stopped and caught my balance for a second holding the side of my face. The adrenaline helped, but DAMN! The whole left-hand side of my face was numb!

My vision was partly in two, but I saw him walking straight at me. I didn't have enough time to orientate myself and because of it I took a full on kick straight to my chest that launched me off my feet backwards. I hit the ground rolling over once onto my back and holding my chest. The only thing I could think of was why I wasn't able to breath. I laid there squirming around trying desperately to take in the oxygen all around me. My eyes rested on Teah-loc as he stood directly over me looking down, his foot raised to finish me off. But right at that exact moment it was like feeling life returning to me and I gasped and rolled out of the way of the falling hammer, and a good thing I did. Because I felt the sandy ground lightly shake from the force of the kick.

I got to my knees slowly making my way up while he just stood there waiting. I re-assessed my situation, a bleeding shoulder and wounded arm, a whole side of my face I couldn't feel, and probably a few broken ribs to boot. Things were not going well, but now? Now the ship was behind me, and all I'd have to do was give ground to him. It wouldn't be easy as the pain made it hard to move.

And right on cue he roared forward sending blow after blow my way. Only a few of them I could actually avoid just barely, the rest I tried cushioning the impact by catching or blocking them. Each step away it felt like I was getting hit by car after car. I thought to look back but didn't want to let on what I was really doing by just constantly retreating. I mean, it wasn't like I could REALLY do much anyway. Even if I broke away and tried to run I was way too injured to really get anywhere and he would most likely just catch me with my back turned to him.

Then just out of nowhere... he stopped. My steps continued though for a few moments not knowing what was happening now. I eyed him up and down as he just stood there motionless. I snuck a glance behind me and still saw the ship off in the distance a short ways. I groaned feeling like I could barely stand, let alone go another minute with him. Then centering my focus back on Teah-loc, I saw the grandmaster now standing beside us. He held out the wrist computer for me to take and I did so while falling to my knees, not out of a sign of respect, but sheer exhaustion and pain.

I fell backward on my ass while holding the button feeling like I was about to pass out. He started in with his speech about something or another I'm sure, but I waited until the very end to even glance at the screen.

"This fight, is over. I am going to reprimand my previous judgment that I passed on you." I read out panting.

"Great... so, what happens now then?"


End file.
